So I got a hankering for sloppy joes today. Not sure why, but it has been ages since I had them. So off I went to the cabinet and voila, there is a package of seasoning and all was in my happy place until… I read the label. head/desk. It has bell peppers in it. I am allergic to bell peppers, ergo.. no sloppy joes for Aislinn. Now I haz a sad.

But that’s ok. I have no food problem that can not be cured with the proper application of my Google Foo ( and yes that must be capitalized. ) so…. I found tons of recipes but nothing that really sang to me. Lots of bits and pieces that sound good, but this one is too sweet and that one is too spicy and that one over there relies on so much processed food that it might as well have been plastic food labeled: Sloppy Joe, one each.

So I decided to make my own mix. We’ll see how it goes tonight on the fresh bread I have in the bread machine.

Sloppy Joe Mix

Ingredients

1/2 tsp. ground mustard

1/2 tsp. corn starch

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. chili powder

2 tbsp. dark brown sugar

Mix all ingredients in a small ziploc bag. Chop one small onion. Brown 1 – 2 lbs. ground beef and onion. Drain off the fat. Sprinkle the beef with the mix and add one tbsp. Worcestershire sauce and one can of tomato paste. Add 1/4 -1 c. beef broth depending on how saucy you like your joes. Cook and stir occasionally until sauce is thickened. Serve over bread or hamburger buns. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

if you like it tangy you could add a tbsp of red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. You could also use ketchup or barbeque sauce instead of the tomato paste and beef broth.

Update:

Ok so I made this tonight and final verdict is … too sweet. We added 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar to balance out the sweetness and that helps. We also added another 1tbsp of Worcestershire sauce. And we used close to 1 c. beef broth to thin it out to the proper consistency and I think next time the sugar should be reduced to 2 tsp. instead of tablespoons, and the mustard should be increased to a full tsp. My better half also said he thinks it needs more tomato taste.